Joe Miller On The Issues: What He Has To Say About Guns, Hate Crimes, Social Security And Abortion

Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller shocked the political establishment this week with his come-from-nowhere performance in his race against incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

As of Thursday, Miller holds a narrow 1,668 vote lead over Murkowski in the GOP Senate primary. However, thousands of absentee ballots cast in Tuesday's election have yet to be counted. The Anchorage Daily News reports that those additional ballots could take a week or two to be tabulated.

But with the upstart Miller still holding on to a razor-thin lead, political observers are asking the same thing, who is this guy? Before Tuesday's primary, Miller made national headlines for earning the endorsement of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Plain.

On her Facebook page Palin suggested, "Alaskans are learning more about Joe." And so are we.

HuffPost has mined Miller's Web site and his media interviews leading up to primary day, plumbing the depths of his conservative -- and in some cases eyebrow-raising -- views. From advocating the need to "transition out" Social Security to suggesting that "hate crimes laws" violate the United States Constitution, here's a sneak peek at the candidate who could be on his way to becoming the next U.S. Senator from Alaska:

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Alaska Candidate Joe Miller's Most Extreme Policy Positions

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Miller's staunch support for Second Amendment rights should come as no surprise given the conservative nature of his views, as well as the fact he comes from Alaska -- a state where any individual who can legally own a firearm is able to carry it concealed and without a permit or license.
Perhaps more surprising, however, is the lack of concern Miller expressed last month over guns and weapons being toted to political rallies.
“It's not unusual to walk into a Wal-Mart, or to walk into a gas station, and see people carrying guns," explained the Tea Party-backed hopeful during an appearance on ABC News/Washington Post's "Top Line." "You know, it's not unusual in political rallies, it's not unusual in parades, to see that type of thing. Probably though, in the lower 48, it does raise some eyebrows.”
The big twist is that the comments came on the heels of Miller, himself, sparking controversy after video surfaced showing supporters of his campaign marching in a parade with handguns and even more powerful weapons.

While Miller says it's "undeniable" that Earth is undergoing the potentially catastrophic process of global warming, he suggests there's no evidence that it's "man-made."
The Alaska Republican defined his position on the issue in an interview this week with the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
“We haven’t heard there’s man-made global warming,” he explained. "Second, even if we proved that, we have not proven we have a solution that works. And third, even if we’ve proven that, we haven’t done a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the solutions like cap-and-trade that Sen. Murkowski has proposed are actually worth the cost to people."

Miller says that "ultimately, we've got to transition out" Social Security.
In an interview with ABC News last month, the Republican hopeful made his case for why the entitlement program should be cut and suggested "it's not that radical of an idea."
“I think it's absolutely critical that the government keep its contract with the seniors that are currently dependent on Social Security,” explained the candidate from Alaska. “The first, I think, bit of order that we've got to get in place is financial solvency. But yeah -- ultimately, we've got to transition out of the Social Security arrangement and go into more of a privatization."
Miller added, "It's a system that is broken, and so there does have to be change, there has to be transition. But for now, those that are dependent on it -- we've got to keep those obligations and commitments.”

HuffPost's Amanda Terkel reports:
On other issues, Miller has placed himself in line with other Tea Party favorites running for Senate seats this year -- including Nevada's Sharron Angle and Colorado's Ken Buck -- by saying that he is opposed to allowing women to obtain abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. In a recent interview with the Fairbank Daily News-Miner, he said that he is "unequivocally pro-life," except "when the mother's life is in danger."

On his campaign website, Miller unambiguously states that he "Opposes Hate Crimes laws as a violation of the Constitutional guarantees to freedom of speech and equal protection under the law."
In a letter dated July 13, 2010 also posted on his site, Miller expresses firm and unwavering opposition to federal laws extending hate crimes protections to victims on the basis of "gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability."
The Senate candidate characterizes lawmakers voting in favor of "hate crimes legislation" as "social agitators on the Left [seeking] to abridge the freedom of thought and speech by the imposition of hate crimes legislation."
He writes:
The Constitution does bestow on Congress the authority to promote the general welfare of the people. It is my belief that interpreting its authority as a cultural obligation placed upon the representatives of the people to encourage patterns of behavior that promote the well being of the social order, and discourage those that do not, is a legitimate reading of the general welfare clause. But there are strict constraints on that authority clearly restricting, if not prohibiting, its extension to the realm of thought and speech.
According to Miller, "There is no evidence that Alaska has a substantial problem with biased-motivated crime"

Miller stressed to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner this week the urgent need to crackdown on illegal immigration in the United States:
The first step in dealing with the problem, he says, is to secure the border to stop more immigrants from entering the U.S. illegally and protect the country from possible terrorist threats.
He does not believe the millions of immigrants already here illegally should be granted amnesty.
Miller said the immigration issue is "critically important" and then went on to elaborate on his position.
“When you reward law breaking, you encourage more of the same. One of the reasons we have such a huge illegal immigrant problem today is the amnesty offered under the Reagan administration.”

Miller states his position on the issue of health care reform on his campaign website:
I support the repeal of ObamaCare. First and foremost, there is no Constitutional authority for it. Currently nearly half of the state governments have filed suit in federal court because they share this view.
Second, even if ObamaCare were Constitutional, its baseline benefit is built upon a crumbling foundation, and it will do nothing to control costs. This legislation adds millions of new beneficiaries to the already broken Medicaid program and relies in part on finding hundreds of billions in savings from the broken and going bankrupt Medicare program. The reimbursement rates on both of these programs are so low that many doctors in Alaska will not see patients or greatly limit the number of patients they will see.
HuffPost's Amanda Terkel reports:
[Miller campaign spokesman Randy] DeSoto also told the Huffington Post that on health care reform, Miller would like to "repeal the whole law" -- including popular provisions such as prohibiting insurers from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. He said that there are some "specific provisions" that "have merit and should be considered," although the campaign hasn't taken a position on the individual parts. He added, however, that the pre-existing conditions provision is "probably good."
Miller also reportedly says he wants to phase out Medicare.

In an appearance on ABC News/Washington Post's “Top Line" last month, Miller argued that legislation seeking to extend jobless benefits to millions of Americans out of work violates the United States Constitution.
“The unemployment compensation benefits have gotten -- first of all, it's not constitutionally authorized,” explained the Alaska hopeful. "I think that’s the first thing that's gotta be looked at, so I do not favor their extension.”
Rick Klein at ABC News reports:
In questioning the constitutionality of unemployment benefits, Miller appears to be going further than other Tea Party-backed candidates – such as Nevada’s Sharron Angle and Kentucky’s Rand Paul – who have also blasted Democrats for seeking to extend unemployment benefits further than current law provides.

Like some other fellow Tea Party-backed contenders running this election cycle, Miller has voiced support for shutting down the U.S. Department of Education.
The Anchorage Daily News reports that Miller says the Department of Education should be axed "because it is not in the Constitution."